For once, Redick and co. enjoy a laugher
PHILADELPHIA >> There was quite a bit of frivolity on the Sixers bench in the last eight minutes of Wednesday’s 117-91 romp over the woeful New York Knicks.
J.J. Redick and several of his teammates had some fun at Ron Baker’s expense when the former Wichita State star went in to a layup attempt and nearly hit the shot clock.
It’s been a while since the Sixers experienced a laugher on the winning side, a month to be exact. The last time they had a win of more than six points was more than two weeks ago in a 124-114 win over the Miami Heat. The last time the margin was 20 or more points was a 113-92 blowout of the Hawks at the Center Oct. 29. So the Sixers’ starters seized the opportunity to relax and have some fun as the reserves ran out the clock.
“We haven’t had many of those games this year so that felt good,” Redick said.
About the only one who had more fun on the court than Redick was center Joel Embiid, who racked up his 21st double-double of the season with 26 points and 14 rebounds. This one, though, was extra special. It came with his father, Thomas, in the stands for the first time this season.
Redick did what you’d expect a veteran guard to do against a team that was playing the second game of a back-to-back on the road and its third game in four days. He lit the Knicks up for 24 points on 10-for14 shooting from the field, and much of that damage was done early. He made all six of his attempts and scored 12 points as the usually slow-starting Sixers jumped out to a 41-27 lead after one quarter.
“You know, I always feel like when I shoot the ball it’s going to go in,” Redick said. “But there’s a different feeling I think when you haven’t missed and you’ve taken a few shots and you just keep seeing the ball go in. It certainly increases the dopamine levels in your brain. That’s the general feeling that I get.”
And the pro that he is, Redick mixed it up on the Knicks. Only six of his field goal attempts were from 3-point range. He made four. The rest of his tries came on drives to the hoop or mid-range jumpers as he worked a two-man game with Embiid.
“I’m just trying to read things,” Redick said. “(Assistant coach) Billy Lange and I were talking about this yesterday. So much attention is given to my three-point shooting and defenses play on that and it tends to open things up. In the two-man game with Jo, that’s why it’s so hard to guard, because if they step up with the big, then Jo is open on that backside, which happened twice tonight. Sometimes it could be a pocket pass, sometimes it could be that late feed.
“If he never really steps up, then I can sort of get all the way to the cup. And then there are other times, I’m thinking of a few times where I’m coming off the other side late in games, that was at Memphis or here against New Orleans, and that’s just making reads. If that help defender doesn’t come, then you can just sort of use that float game.”
There’s also the Jimmy Butler factor. He’s made quite a difference since he arrived via a trade two weeks ago.
“I think the spacing is a little bit different when you see the other side of the floor,” coach Brett Brown said. “When we are playing, I don’t think it’s so much that as it is those two are getting comfortable in their actions and the setup of stuff. At times, it used to be a collision. People trying to blow up that dribble hand-off with JJ and Joel, I almost felt like Joel was going to get injured and now they have so much going on because we have been doing that now for two years, back cuts, JJ will come up and screen for Joel and JJ will take two more steps instead of onestep setup.
“I think they really are doing a good job of using the creativity and variety of that and I do think that there is some benefit of having someone like Jimmy over on that other side of the floor for spacing purposes.”
And the result was a rout. Yes, it was against a Knicks team that came into the game with the fourth-worst record in the league and was dog tired from a schedule that had them in Memphis Sunday, Detroit Tuesday and Philadelphia Wednesday. But the Sixers — whose last game on home court was an embarrassing loss to the even worse Cavaliers — will gladly take it.